Ezikiel: -9
Zombie 2: -10 total
Light sources: Dulae shield, Cel wayfinder, Xizoh ioun torch.
As Henri continues forward she sees a figure with an ioun torch floating over their head. As she gets closer, she thinks it might be Xizoh. When she's about 5 feet away, she's very sure it's the doctor.
As the runner enters the light of Xizoh's ioun torch he sees to his surprise that it's Henri.
She looks injured and afraid. Xizoh sees a river of dried blood that's run down her neck from her nose and mouth and one of her pant legs is bloodied from what looks like a stab wound. One of her arms is twisted at an unnatural angle and she's wearing manacles that restrain her at the wrists.
Henri is carrying her pack in front of her with her sword shoved awkwardly into it and Xizoh doesn't see her usual guns in their holsters. She looks like she's fleeing something or someone in a hurry.
As the battered Henri approaches, Xizoh feels his heart plummet into his stomach. By Oranis, I thought she was leaving! "Henri, what happened?" The young man's tone are soft despite the worry present in his voice.
Dulae scowls at the slowly moving cage, and keeps cranking.
"There was a pressure plate near the door and a lever. I'm not sure which will open it." She says to Alaina.
Cel stays at the ready to blast zombies that may come up toward the cage.
Henri lets out a small gasp as Xizoh comes into her line of sight. Why is he here? Are the others... s+$$. Henri practically collapses as she stops running, the momentum of her movement being her primary source of balance. "D-doc!" she stutters out, wavering wildly as she tries to keep standing. "We've gotta get outta here, Doc, he's right behind me, he's gonna..." Henri breaths heavily, looking frantically behind her for traces of Ezikiel. "He's gonna kill me, Doc, please, we gotta get out of here."
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Gritting his teeth, Xizoh lets loose his grip on his magic for a moment. His torso pulsates in waves, angrily moving about before the doctor clamped back down his control. Gently touching her good shoulder, Xizoh looks straight at her. "He. Won't. Touch. You." Pointing behind him towards the others, the young healer's face is set in stone. "Before you go, do you want him alive?"
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At Xizoh's side Anathema rears up, its serpentine figure towering over its master and his friend, enough of Xizoh's anger flooding the connection to make the snake somber. "Or dead?"
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Despite Xizoh's rage boiling just beneath the surface, Henri feels a strange sort of calm roll over her as she lets out a deep breath. Her voice is hoarse and wavers as she responds. "If you can, kill him. But please, just be careful. He is very, very dangerous." Henri lets out a small grin, and raises her arms to her face to attempt to rub off some of her blood - instead she just ends up smearing it. "It's good to see you again, Doc." At that, Henri dashes off in the direction that he was pointing.
"Don' make this any harder than it has to be, girlie," a man's voice echoes from about 100 feet away up the tunnel. "The more ye drag this out, the more I cut off. Come back an' ye might save most of yer fingers."
Xizoh doesn't think it sounds like the voice of the necromancer; it's a voice he doesn't recognize.
It sounds like Xizoh is talking to someone about 50 feet away. With the tunnel upslope it's hard to tell who it is, but they appear to be a bipedal humanoid.
A few seconds later Henri enters the light of Dulae's shield, looking injured and afraid. A river of dried blood has run down her neck from her nose and mouth and one of her pant legs is bloodied from what looks like a stab wound. One of her arms is twisted at an unnatural angle and she's wearing manacles that restrain her at the wrists.
Henri is carrying her pack in front of her with her sword shoved awkwardly into it and her usual guns aren't their holsters. She looks like she's fleeing something or someone in a hurry.
Dara sees a tall, thin elf was dirty blonde hair and a scar under her right eye hustle toward them from Xizoh's direction. She looks like she's been on the bad end of a fight, perhaps captured if the manacles are anything to go by.
Henri sees another light up ahead, and some familiar faces. She dashes up to see Alaina, Cel, and Dulae all looking well. There is also a new face she doesn't recognize; a tough-looking red-headed female dwarf carrying a bow who stands closest to the iron cage that Dulae is busy lowering.
In the light from Dulae's shield the four mangled, charred bodies of the zombies still lie on the cave floor exactly how she remembers last seeing them.
Henri also sees the motionless body of Captain Vazquez lying on the tunnel floor next to Dulae.
"Henri? Is that you?! But you were...I saw you...what?!"
Alaina turns to move closer to the lever, then freezes when she sees the blonde elf return looking like she's in serious trouble. Oh Hells Henri, what did you get yourself into?
"You alright, Blondie?"
Dara relaxes a little when she sees the rest of the party seems to recognize the elf, but keeps an eye on the tunnel ahead for whatever the elf might have been running from.
Dara sees that Xizoh has summoned Anathema again and is facing away from the party, toward the direction Henri came from.
Dara, Dulae, and Cel hear the zombies shuffling closer in the darkness. A harsh click and soft rush of air tells them at least one zombie has set off a dart trap, but it doesn't seem to slow them down.
Taking a deep breath to focus his anger, Xizoh marched forward alongside Anathema. "You heard the lady." Stopping outside the cave, Xizoh glanced at Anathema.
Staring back at Xizoh, Anathema smiled. "Most definitely.
Cel moves up next to Dara, and begins to line up a shot to pick off the zombies as they come.
A tall half-elf runs up to the edge of Xizoh's ioun torchlight. Xizoh doesn't recognize him but there's something strangely familiar about his features. There are smears of blood on his clothes and he walks with a limp like he has taken a very heavy blow. "Wha the..." the stranger mumbles when he sees Xizoh and Anathema.
"I ain't got no quarrel with ye, freak," the half-elf levels Henri's blunderbuss at Xizoh. "Stand aside."
Henri smiles despite herself as Cel wonders about her sudden appearance. It had only been a day since she had last seen them, but it felt like an eternity. Or at the very least, a few months. "I don't know myself, little Rabbit." She gives Dulae a weak smile. "Good as I've ever been. We need to help the Doc back there, though, he can't take Ez by himself." Henri crouches on the ground, and starts rifling through her bag, muttering to herself. "Lockpicks, lockpicks, come on..."
Dara didn't know this person, but the others seemed to be alright with her.
Squeezing between Dulae, reaching into her pouch and pulling out one of the sets of tools she had on her, the Dwarf said, "Here, use these, but I want them back." She then tossed them at newcomer.
Alaina was torn, she didn't want to leave Cel behind, but at the same time, she couldn't just let Xizoh face whoever or whatever was chasing Henri. Even if he did creep her out a bit. Praying she wouldn't regret it, the Wolf headed down the corridor.
Alaina reaches Xizoh just in time to see a tall figure in the shadows level a gun at him and order him to "Stand aside."
Flashing a cavernous maw, Anathema bolts around the new figure, laughing as it slither behind him. Peering down at him, the giant snake purposely flares its hood and lets its tongue flicker out. "Actually, I'm afraid you do have quarrel with us, sir."
Waiting until Anathema had this person's full attention, Xizoh charged forward, his flesh splitting open and bubbling as his stride lengthened. "Doctors are supposed to do no harm." Stopping just short of the man, the disfigured and much larger Xizoh snarled as he spun to smash his weapon into the man. "But for what you did to Henri, don't consider me a doctor."
Anathema smiles as Xizoh's anger floods its bond in even stronger waves. "Consider him an furious monster."
As Anathema slithers past him, the stranger fires Henri's blunderbuss.
The stranger doesn't seem used to guns - the shot goes far above Anathema.
The stranger's eyes go wide when he sees Xizoh's transformation. He tries to dodge, but Xizoh's chain strikes him across the chest. He grunts in pain.
The stranger hurls the blunderbuss to the ground. "You're gonna regret that, freak."
In one fluid motion he draws the longbow from his back and an arrow from the quiver beside it and fires at Xizoh's throat.
The arrow strikes its mark, lodging itself deep into the Fleshbeast.
Now fully in the light of Xizoh's ioun torch Alaina sees the stranger is a half-elf. She doesn't recognize him, but something in his features is familiar. He is dressed in an Altiendel ranger style and his clothes are bloody, perhaps not with his blood. When he dodges Xizoh's attack he moves like he has already suffered some heavy blow.
Ezikiel: -9; -13X; -22tot
Zombie 2: -10 total
Light sources: Dulae shield, Cel wayfinder, Xizoh ioun torch.
As the arrows moves towards Xizoh throat Anathema attempts to strike the man's side with its tail before resorting to a razor filled maw. Panicking from the garbled signals coming over the bond, the serpent yells, 'Come on Xizoh, you can't die here! What about your family!"
Gurgling as his throats rips apart, Xizoh drops to his knees as he struggles to breathe. Finally his scrambling hand find the lethal implement, and pull it free in a gush of blood. As he swims in pain, the doctor feels his magic strain to keep him alive. Soon, it begins to cannibalize the rest of his body, molten streams of wax flowing towards his throat. Spitting out globules of flesh and blood, Xizoh rises with far less bulk, and a fearsome series of scars and stitches lining his throat.
"Not dead yet." The words come out guttural and distorted as he swings, unused to the change in his body's mass and strength.
"Norah's taint!" Dulae curses at Henri's appearance. "Henri, what happened to you?"
She keeps cranking, willing the cage to fall faster. "What danger is Mr. Shadelock in? We have undead chasing us!"
Alaina rushed forward to provide the creepy Doc with some support.
Cel, Dara, Dulae and Henri see the zombies rush into the light of Cel's wayfinder. It sounds like darts are still flying from traps at regular intervals, but the dead soldiers are not slowed.
Cel, Dara, Dulae, and Henri hear a masculine scream come from near where Alaina and Xizoh are that doesn't sound like Xizoh.
The stranger easily dodges Anathema's tail, but Anathema bites deeply into the stranger's injured shoulder and he screams in pain. He shrugs Anathema off and sidesteps Xizoh's next swing.
"The hells are you f*ckers coming from..." he mumbles when Alaina approaches.
He fires two quick arrows at Anathema.
The first strikes Anathema's tail, but it doesn't have as much power behind it.
Ezikiel: -22; -8An; -30tot
Zombie 2: -10 total
Light sources: Dulae shield, Cel wayfinder, Xizoh ioun torch.
As the verdent and obsidian tails rushes to meet the stranger's side, the arrow strikes an apparent nerve. With its tail flailing about uncontrollably, Anathema struggles to maintain the balance for a bite. Even so, the snake can't help but quip, its mood restore now that Xizoh no longer was choking on his own blood, "We're simply manifestations of your conscious my friend!" Somehow managing a motherly tsk, it adds, "You're not exactly a nice person after all."
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Moving his head slowly, Xizoh sighs in relief at Alaina's presence. "Sorry about the mess." Xizoh's voice sounds tired and scratchy, and somehow genuinely apologetic.
Despite his weariness, the monstrous doctor attempts another swing. Damn it, my power took too much from my muscles!
Seeing that the gate is nearly in place he decides that the zombies can wait and turns to run to help Xizoh. "Wait, someone else is coming?! Who is Ez?" he asks as he runs by Henri.
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Henri gives the new dwarf a look somewhere between thanks and skepticism as she gracelessly catches the tools in her manacled hands. "If you've got tools like these, I assume you'd know how to use 'em. Think you could give me a hand?" Henri glanced at Dulae and Cel, biting her lip. She doesn't want to say too much, but the truth of it was that they were going to find out something. She sighs softly. "It's complicated, but there's a very deadly man who is following behind me. He can and will kill all of us." Henri's gaze flicks back to the dwarf expectantly. "Undead ahead and an assassin behind. Not one of my best days."
The stranger dodges Anathema and Xizoh's attacks with effortless agility.
Cel's blast hits the lead zombie square in the chest, further tearing its flesh from its bones.
Cel easily jumps over the diamond tiles.
Ezikiel: -30tot
Zombie 2: -10 prior; -12C; -22tot
Light sources: Dulae shield, Cel wayfinder, Xizoh ioun torch.
Dara didn't like leaving her cousin alone back there with someone that clearly scared this woman, but on the other hand, she was in clear need of help. Normally she'd have hesitated, but given everyone else's reaction to her presence, the Dwarf moved in, knelt down and started working on the manacles.
Getting tired of these surprises, Alaina held her rage in check, while trying to land properly targeted strikes.
Dulae straightens from the crank and gestures at the coming zombies. "Today isn't anyone's best days... we were drinking with them last night. This should hold them off long enough though." She gives Henri's battered form a quick once over. "Don't die. And don't let the captain die either!"
She speeds past Henri and Dara, drawing her sword as she tries to reach the fight. "Clear the way!" She yells upon seeing the struggle, raising her sword and beginning to charge.
There is a promising click, but the manacles do not open on Dara's first attempt.
Alaina's kick causes the stranger to stagger, leaving him open for her to smash Greenwall into his face. His hand flies up to the blood gushing out of his nose.
Dulae's departure leaves Dara and Henri alone among the dead bodies in rather dim light. Dara can still see her work well enough in the dark.
Ezikiel: -30 prior; -10Al; -40 tot
Zombie 2: -22t
Light sources: Dulae shield, Cel wayfinder, Xizoh ioun torch.
“Abbhen b!tch,” the stranger snarls at Alaina through the blood dripping over his mouth. "I don’ got time for this," he says, seeing Dulae preparing to charge.
The stranger bolts around Anathema, shouting behind him, "I'll find you, sis. There's nowhere you can hide that you'll be safe. DO YOU HEAR ME, HENRIETTA!?"
Meanwhile, the zombies slam eagerly into the lowered cage. Dara can clearly see the dead grasping for them through the iron bars. Henri can barely make out a chaos of twisted limbs in the dim light.
Laughing at the coward ran, Anathema causally twisted in a way anything with a spine would violently disagree with, teeth glinting from the ioun stone orbiting his master. "Oh, not a fan of our show sir?"
Snarling, Xizoh shook his fist at the man. "FAMILY PROTECTS!" The rather angry amalgamation of flesh roared before the noise died down to a pathetic cough. Dropping to his knees, the doctor grabbed his still scarred throat even as molten flesh evaporated off his frame.
Coming up with a desperate gasp, Xizoh could feel his body protesting the movement. Leaning against the wall, the half elf chuckled half heartedly before resting his head against the wall. "Thanks for running him off Alaina. I don't have much more left in me, and one more arrow to the throat and you'd have to patch yourselves up." His desire to double check on Henri warred with his weariness, and his exhaustion won.
Sliding down the wall to sit haphazardly, Xizoh cocked his head at Dulae's approaching form. "You just missed it Sunshine." He paused, trying to rub the scratchy pain in his throat away. "Henri make it to you okay?"
Quietly, Anathema slithered next to Xizoh, its eyes focus on the retreating form of Henri's half brother. "And he never even insulted me in Draconic. Kids these days."
Despite its words, the massive serpents tail rummaged about the young healer's satchel, searching for a particular bottle.
Cel comes running up to the group, "Where is he? Where's the Ez person Henri told us about? I heard shouting!" Cel gets in his firing stance, the wind swirling around him slightly growing in intensity.